U3A Nunawading is lucky to have a great group of dedicated and talented class leaders and volunteers who enable us to offer a diverse range of courses and activities. To get to know them a little better, we plan to feature one of these members in each newsletter.
In this edition, we introduce you to Volker Ankenbrand.
Hello to Volker Ankenbrand
Computer Class Leader Volker Ankenbrand combines his passion for teaching and IT skills to give U3A members confidence to navigate the IT world. He has been at U3A Nunawading for three years teaching a weekly computer class, and leading one-off classes on specialist IT topics.
Volker’s career journey pivoted and led him to Australia
German-born Volker was drawn to teaching because many of his family had specialised in this profession, but his studies were cut short by the Cold War which drained funding from education to defence. He eventually got a degree in Spanish and became a translator, then did programming during the IT boom of the 1980s.
“My linguistic and IT skills provided opportunities for me to work in many countries around the world and in 2000 I came to work in Melbourne on an IT project, and my family and I decided to stay,” Volker said. “I feel very lucky to have learnt many skills throughout my career and I get a lot of satisfaction in passing this knowledge on. I enjoy the diversity of my classes, and it is very rewarding to see people improve their understanding and become comfortable in using computers.”
Learning about computers and what’s changing
Volker’s classes cover online safety and privacy, using the internet and open source and the rising popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“There are many positives about AI with its ability to accumulate data and apply it to tasks which saves time and money, and it can also help to make amazing advancements in everything we do as a society,” Volker said. “However, there is always a flip side. AI stores everything which could lead to privacy issues, and you can’t forget that it is a machine, and does not have the critical thinking and moral compass of a human. Also, if there is a power outage, AI goes offline too.”
Other interests
In addition to U3A, Volker volunteers at his local church that has a large German-speaking community. Travelling and keeping active are also top of his list of things to do.
“After regularly travelling throughout my career, I still love to travel and my wife and I enjoy catching up with family in Germany and France, where my wife is from,” Volker added. “Plus, one of our children is working in New Zealand and the other two live in Sydney. To relax, I like to take a walk or ride every day, I also do a weekly yoga class, and I firmly believe it is important to have digital detox time!”